Louder than Words, Dreamtime

Review in Issue 8-2 | Summer 1996

Time was an important element in Dreamtime. Past and present events were replayed over and over again. Beginning and ending with the drowning of Steve and Carol's son Mikey, the intervening years were jumbled, as though personal tragedy had stymied life's progression – its effects like a ripple created by a pebble thrown into a pond. The event becomes the reality and everything before and after is 'dreamtime'.

Directed by Ruth Ben-Tovim, the play's open structure, echoed by the set, allowed the audience to wander through the studio space with the programme acting as a map to guide them through the significant events of the narrative. Locations were given a quasi-realistic appearance; the 1970s kitchen, Mikey's room, the bathroom and pond. The audience had free access to these private spaces and the opportunity to peek behind closed doors after the family crisis. Scenes from three interconnected stories were played concurrently and the audience sifted the information presented, to piece together the individual narratives.

Voices of children and projections of the universe added a forth dimension to the piece; the pain and suffering endured on earth uncomprehended by the heavenly bodies above. Although the performances and writing varied in quality, Dreamtime was quite profound, leaving its audience visibly moved, sharing in the sense of loss.

Presenting Artists
Presenting Venue
Date Seen
  1. May 1996

This article in the magazine

Issue 8-2
p. 21